oh...we also had a couple dates too!

I don't know why I'm going back and forth...I know for those few days I was eating as close to raw as possible...I felt amazing..on top of the world! Am I just fighting with myself or just taking the easy road? Oh anyway!

It was a beautiful day. We run errands most of the time...but still quite beautiful to spend together as a family! I love my hubby...he's one of a kind!

We're going to be camping out this weekend again...one night at the Kankakaee state park and I'm not sure the next night! We're camping with a herd of people this time...got to love them...they're convined I need to get out of the house...not a bad idea...

I love nature and truly look forward to this weekend...hopefully we'll get to swim in a crick too! yippie! Shian's first real swim! And Jonathan's first time swimming on his own! (he took a couple months worth of swim lessons...and done wonderful!)....okay...I'm not writing again tonight!!!! hehehehe!!! sorry about being so long winded this time!


~jes~

Hey there hun...oh i am soooo sooo sorry to hear of your loss..but you are taking amazing strides and keeping well and strong..it is hard...but knowing it is life and natural is a wonderful feeling to love and accept life...That is a wonderful trait to have..so congrats...you are doing great with raw foods don't stress hun...everyone is different and has their own story and journey...i went cold turkey on day one...100% and never looked back...but not everyone can do that...and i know it takes strength to do any sort of raw..whether you eat 1 3 or 2 meals...so keep going and doing what you are doing!!!!
keep up the good work hun...
love ya
sach
xoxoxoxo

oh btw...kankakee valley?? is that where the park is?? kankakee valley is not far from my hometown where i am moving back in august to...maybe we will get to hang out once in a while and get together!! that would be awesome..
well let me know
love ya

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Today is a hot sunny day...96 degrees! We have opted this year to not use any a/c becuase last year we were very sluggish and didn't want to go outside! It has actually been a lot nicer so far...(it's not july/august yet though either! hehehe!)

Well, today...
14 june 07
208 lbs

pineapple, strawberries, red grapes

mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed green beans with onion, lemonade, and 3 bites of cheese curds

tonight I am probably going to make a tahini milkshake...they are yummy and I've been craving that today...maybe since I haven't had milk in a while? anyway...will add some carob powder and have a carob tahini milkshake...yummy...mouthwatering!

I have to run..sorry so short and sweet..go lots to do today!

have a wonderful day all!

~jes~

hey there...ooh i remember that midwest heat oh too well even though ihaven't been through a summer since like 95 haha....i was always in sandiego from mid june till end of august and still will be...i can't deal with it too much lol....
Keep up the good work..you seem to be doing well and feeling good!! keep up the energy..
love ya
sach
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Hi Jes. Seems like you are dong great. My advice on the whole raw thing is- it doesn't matter what the percentage is as long as you are making progress. Challenge yourself but make it something sustainable for you. Research, inform yourself and surround yourself with knowledge and support and you will keep making progress at whatever pace you're supposed to.

That's just an opinion.


www.inaia.com

Hey sweetie just stopping in to say hello!! hope all is well and you are having a great weekend!!!
take care
love ya
sach
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

What an absolutely amazing weekend! Just what the doctor ordered. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to spend my time having fun with such amazing friends and family.

I feel so connected with nature sometimes that it is so hard to come back to civilization. It's the same feeling I get when I am with my animals. I seem to connect with them so much better than people.

I have always wondered around wondering what I really wanted to do with my life, but I guess with age the picture has been getting clearer. I am called to home and animals... When my kids get older I am going to pursue something new and exciting....and I can't wait.....anyway.....

I was able to pack away some fruits for this weekend...we ate grapes, bananas and strawberries and drank lots and lots of water. We went swimming in the river and the kids had a blast! They were filthy and we were greatful for the showers (despite cold) to rinse away the weekend fun!

I am glad to be home, I miss my baby, I love life and how precious every little thing can be....I really hope my oldest son Jonathan comes to a realization that he cannot go potty in his underwear throughout the day....and I truly love my husband...he and I go hand in hand....he truly understands me...and I love him dearly for it.....



it is hard to always pass up meat based meals when I am so accustomed to them....this weekend we did buy fruits to eat with the meals though so that was nice...and everyone was alright with it.

When we got back yesterday, for Father's Day we took the boys out to eat at a small diner...me and the in-laws ate these huge salads...mine was a greek one (romaine, olives, feta, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, tomatoe) and I ate half of it without dressing....not bad...but the rest I ate with some ranch...I even ate only 1 cube of the feta! and I LOVE feta! heheh....the salad was so refreshing after eating all of the meat/eggs from the weekend. I didn't overdue it, but there was a major diet change! We kept busy and played a lot!

Didn't have supper...we were full from the salads (very yummy)!

today: not so good...

banana, coffee with flavored creamer

1 cheesy braut on 1 slice of white bread, green grapes, a few chips

rice milk, oreos

red and green grapes, water


I will try to do better tomorrow...need to go grocery shopping, but that will have to wait...we are meeting with my husbands extended family tomorrow so I hope tomorrow goes wonderfully! It should as long as the weather permits! We love our sun!

Hope this finds you all doing well...take care and goodnight!

~jes~

Sounds really awesome. How wonderful the relationship you have with your husband. I want that for myself one day. That's why I am working so hard on myself and on learning to allow myself to receive love and not fight it so darn fiercely. Thanks for the reminder that it is possible and that I don't have to fight so hard, Much love... Inaia


www.inaia.com

hey hun...glad you had such a wonderful trip with your family in the woods..i love that!!!! ooh i love swimming in the river too..can't wait to float the river with my friends as well when i get home...ooh the awesome country times...anyways...you did really well and are doing really well..keep up the good work hun and keep up the awesome attitude...
love ya
sach
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Oh Dearest Inaia....Love is one of those everchanging battles! hehehe! You take the wonderfully good with the bad. It is what you make of it, and you always get what you sow. I've gone through one divorce to learn this. Take your time and focus on you. You will know when love hits you, you can't control it, but it just feels right...ya know? My husband and I are not completely compatible...we are the two most opposite people in the world! hehhe! But there is alot of give and take and understanding....we both are still working on the whole patience thing! But hey...we have a lifetime!

Dearest Earthangel, I am so happy that your mommy is coming to Cali to see you. You are doing so great! Life changing choices are hard to do, but stay focused on the reasons you feel they are necessary and follow your heart... it will not lead you astray!

Okay! Goodmorning all!!! And what a beautiful one it is! We will be going to see his grandpa, great aunt, and mother today for lunch...not sure what is going on plan wise, but I do intend to buy groceries when we are done. By the way...just a warning....we got all the left over camping food so we will be using it up....eggs/turkey burgers, ect. We will be incoporating it into our diet until it is used up. I know I know...but as far as health wise I would rather it be these than hamburger. I have to admit I was actually surprised they picked up turkey as opposed to the really fatty beef. huh...I personally speaking prefer the turkey...I've tried some garden burgers and just couldn't swallow them...

just trying to make smarter choices but still make everyone happy. It's like a juggling circus around here. But...it could always be worse!

this morning I had a glass of water....I'll post tonight of what I ate today!

have a great one!

~jes~

hey there hun....well good for you having a great day and keeping up with your goals!!
take care
love sach
oxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Hey, Jes. Thanks for the advice. I am totally about focusing on me. I have never "looked" for love and have always found amazing people. I am just in a period of great change & transition right now and it is inspiring to hear about your relationship-for sure. Hope you are well.
Let us know how you're doing...


www.inaia.com

Hey hun..hope all is well with you and your beautiful family!! take care of yourself
love earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Oh my it has been such a long time! After going camping and returning to more meat it has been hard to escape that majority. Then we went down to see my family for a week...even harder, but we had some support from my sister and my mom is slowly coming around. Shian's diarhea came back and her stomach was in knots when she drank milk. We ate raw fruits and vegetables about 60% of the time so that was good!

This morning the kids ate cherries, kiwi, and banana, I finished off the banana, advocado, and peach. We snacked on cherries later in the day (a new found LOVE

no lunch...not hungry, did drink tea and coke....really fighting the pop...cutting back though. kids ate pbj

for supper I wrapped turkey balogne in romaine leaves and red pepper slices...no dressing...yippie! had a mt. dew, water, and some grapes with mozz cheese.

Took the kids swimming today! It was a hot one, but truly beautiful!

Sorry it's been so long...I'm trying to get back to where I was before, but this yoyo thing stinks! hehehe! But hey...that's life!

Okay...my goals this week...cut back on bread and pop. That's the first step!

Have a good night!

~jes~

Well, today has been an interesting day already. Got to bed around 3:30 this morning after meeting my dad at a truck stop around midnight to visit while he was in town. At some chicken noodle soup that was very yummy. Our daughter woke up at 6 with food poisoning...our son went with his papa in the semi to go visit with my family for the week...and sure enough he has food poisoning as well! My dad and I haven't gotten sick, but boy we're not up to par either!

We have been finding a happy balance with just trying to eat healthier since my husband and everyone we know eats meat. But me and the kids are trying to have 2 meals raw or mostly raw! I'm happy to admit that I've cut back on meat in half! yippie! I've found that watching my bread helps too with my knees.

The other day was a very busy day...it had been storming pretty bad so we took the kids swimming at the Y. For breakfast they had a banana and strawberries, lunch: golden corral...salad, fruits, veggies,
supper: drank some rasp lemonade..still full from lunch!

midnight: chicken soup...should've known better! This time it wasn't comfort food!

We are all doing well...trying to enjoy the summer! Hope all is well with everyone and have a great day!

~jes~

I am so sorry to hear about the food poisoning. I hope everybody is feeling better by now and you are all able to enjoy your raw foods.

Thank you Karen!

We have been down south at Serenity (our land) for 2 weeks now! We done pretty good the first week with our food, but then the second week was terrible.

We got back yesterday and let me tell you. My body was so sick of good tasting nasty food that I got sick, my throat hurt from all the pop and wow what a headache. We went to the grocery store and bought lots of fruits and veggies. Today I haven't been to hungry though, still fighting the nauseau and headache so just been drinking lots of water tonight I had some chai tea.

We bought romaine, grn bell pepper, carrots, cauliflower, apples, bananas, peaches, oranges, and grapes...yummy...breakfast will be some fruit, a nice fresh salad tomorrow sounds yummy and I'm not sure for supper!

I hope all is well with everyone! The yoyo seems dreadfully hard on my body with raw to cooked and processed! What a realization...it's funny how you can knowingly do something against your better judgement out of addiction or just bad choices. My body hurts, I know what I need to do, it is just following through with it...finding the right balance for me especially around my family has been the greatest challenge of them all. But we shall get there in time!

Good night everyone!

~jes~

jes, we learn something important everytime we go back to cooked food and realize how much better raw food tastes and makes us feel, don't we?

Btw, Matt Monarch (a raw foodist of 8 years) and Fred Bisci (a raw foodist of 40 years) believe that going back and forth between cooked and raw food is very hard on us and believe it would be better to stay on cooked food than to switch back and forth. We get more sensitive to cooked food when we stop eating it. This has made me more determined to stick with raw foods this time for good! But they say, for some people it might be best to eat a high percentage raw food diet instead of 100%. Just an fyi.

Thank you for the tip karen! I think that approach has been better for us, we can't eat all raw right now. I do try to provide raw at each sitting though!

Our breakfast is usually a fruit bowl or oatmeal(steel ground oat grits)
Shian cannot handle any sort of dairy milk so the kids and I drink oat/rice/soy milk.

Lunch and Supper we try to add raw sides with cooked.

okay I haven't done a menu in a while!

Yesterday:

am: banana, tangelo, org. coffee with raw honey and soymilk
lunch: org. mac n cheese, veg. baked beans, raw sugar snap peas, water
supper: homemade salsa: tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper, cilantro, small hot pepper with tortillas chips, water

today:

am: banana and peach
lunch: rueben sandwich with fries, chicken soup, coffee, water
supper: i haven't ate yet since Im still full but if I do eat I will probably eat some fresh pineapple chunks and rasperry, or a salad!

I feel alot better today...more energy. We were down south at my families for 2 weeks. I am just now feeling better. It's amazing how much of a difference there is in energy levels between all cooked to mixed percentages. I agree by just listening to my body, such a drastic change (even soda consumption) is so hard on my body. Based upon the migraines and lack of energy. And I'm not the only one that feels this way, the whole family is draggin.

Amazing. Our bodies are truly a walking natural phenominon (spelling)! I just turned 27 on Tuesday and I think this has been a year of slow realization and listening. I'm sure it's just growing older and reaching a different level in life but I find myself analyzing my decisions alot more. I am wanting change, my body wants change, my life needs to change. You would think that would be enough encouragement to face anything wouldn't you! If it is true that while being on more raw your body has a harder time processing cooked then that will be a wonderful natural reminder to watch out for my wellbeing.

I must sign off for now! Thank you Karen for your input. Any is always appreciated. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I am an honest person, I don't beat around the bush and it doesn't bother me to hear other's opinions if they don't coincide with my own. Take care and goodluck on your journey as well!

~jes~

Raw food with every meal, that sounds like a good plan and much better than many people eat. I fix my kids fruit with their breakfast also, even now while we are on vacation - along with their yogurt or boiled eggs. I haven't been enforcing the salads with supper as much as usual, but we'll get back to that when we get back home. I have still been giving them apples, carrots, and celery though with some of their cooked meals.

Take care and let's both keep on listening to what our body's have to tell us. :-)

the beginning of a hectic weekend! Today we drove up north near chicago to see shawn's grandpa for lunch (he only likes fast food!) Then we checked out an Ikea store near us...neat place as well as an rv place...lots of walking and driving!

okay here it goes!

am: banana, water
lunch: arby's roast beef and cheddar with fries and soda
pm: salad: lettuce, radishes,tomatoe, cucucmber, ranch dressing, soda

tomorrow we're going hiking at a park near us and taking the kids swimming! Might be a few days before I repost! Until then...

goodnight!

~jes~

It has been amazing hectic around here. Stress levels at an all time high, and trying to do some self improvement for myself and for the relationship between me and my children. I know I am just typing this on the computer in a raw diary, but I just need to vent a little...so please skip the next paragraph!

I am a very private hermit crab. I usually don't leave our house until my husband is off work (a few days a week). I have always been quiet and shy, but I have a temper that sparks after trying to be patient for as long as I can. I can only focus on one thing at a time, much chaos sends me into panic mode and then I can snap without meaning to due to being nervous. I have been working on breathing, not raising my voice, and not spanking. I do not want to be like my parents were. I want to be calm, and fair. I want to listen, and for my children to listen. I need this to end on this generation. It has been easier with my daughter since she is so young, but my son has formed his own opinions and is just as head strong as I am. It will take alot of patience and love for both of us. I am calm in nature, thus the reason the land was named serenity...I am reciting to myself every morning what I want for myself and my children, what I want to achieve, there has been some changes that I have noticed, but I have a long way to go. So many journeys!

Okay...

I have a dear friend that has come up to stay for a few days so the diet has been mixed with eating out more...

yesterday:

org coffee with raw honey and rice milk

spaghetti with vegetable sauce, 2 slices of bread with butter, carrots from our garden yummy!, water

golden corral: dried cranberries, mushrooms, celery, carrots, shrimp, coctail sauce, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake, unsweetened tea

today thus far:

coffee with raw honey and rice milk
I will eat a banana later and maybe a peach (they smell yummy)!

~jes~

I know what you mean about the yelling and spanking. I was raised that way and tried to not raise my kids that way. I think I yelled and spanked a lot less, but I still did it sometimes. I am a lot calmer when I am on the raw diet and my blood sugars are level, so that helps a lot. I hope the raw diet will help you long term to achieve your goals too. Good luck!

Thank you Karen! I know I'm not the only one in this boat, but boy it sure gets lonely sometimes amongst all the aggrivation I put myself through! But on a shinier note, I have plans for this weekend for all four of us to go to Chicago on the bus (which we have not done yet) to help build a cob sculpture (clay/straw/sand mix). I thought this would be a great hands on piece for all of us to have fun, get messy, and see something beautiful get created!

My husband and I agreed that we really need more emphasis on family time. Granted, we need it to be simple, and not break the bank, but I thinks sometimes more comes from simplicity. anywho!

It is our sons first full day of first grade, and he is terrified of bullies! The last day of school, he came home with a cut lip so it left a terrible taste in his mouth and a lot of dred for this year. He has a sweet teacher who is a bit more mature and I hope she will assist him through these next few weeks. Our daughter is adjusting to being the only child at home now...that could take a little while!

Yesterday was good. Karen I took your advice and tried to eat healthier. I also just munched throughout the day so no set meal....but come night...I was really craving something sweet!

am: org. coffee with raw honey, org. rice milk
green grapes
peach
banana
sugar snap peas
homegrown carrots
homemade raw salsa (tomatoes,onion,bell pepper,hot pepper,sea salt) with baked chips
a few bites of lamb with cucumber sauce
water
rice crispie

today: 23 aug 07
206.5

am: peach, banana, coconut flakes salad, water

That outing sounds like it will be fun! You will be creating good memories for your family.

I am so sorry that your son had trouble with bullies last year. Poor little guy. My son endured some of that also and even in high school now is teased at school. I hope his teacher helps him out this year.

Sounds like you ate very healthy! There are several triggers for me that make me crave something sweet. 1) high blood sugar - so checking my bs often and taking my insulin helps 2) hunger - that's why grazing all day or eating whenever I am the slightest bit hungry helps 3) end of the day (I think conditioning from always ending the day with a dessert as a kid growing up) 4) stress 5) grief including grieving over things not being the way I think they should be in my life. One doctor told me that grief triggers a craving for sweets and anger triggers a craving for salt. I don't know if that is always true, but it is interesting. Take care.

hey darlin..how are things going???? aww i am sorry to hear that your son had such a traumatic experience at school kids can be so awful at such a young age anymore..that is horrible..i hope and pray he has a better year with great friends and a wonderful teacher!! and hopefully your baby girl will adjust well..maybe you can take in a child for a little extra money and a play mate for her??
anyways keep up the great work and keep on keeping on!!
love ya
sach
xoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Hey, you're doing so great!


www.inaia.com

Hey jes....what's up chica?? just stopping in today to say hello! and see how the kiddies were doing and you and the hubby!! i hope all is well!!
take care
lots of love
sach
xoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

hi buttercup how are you?????? please let me know...i hope all is well with yoU!!! miss you!!!
love earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo